This page is dedicated to Cheri, Blitzer and Louis..... bichons that I loved and lost.....

Cheri

Cheri came to us as a 6 year old rescue bichon in a very poor and emaciated condition.  Needing urgent surgery and weighing only 6 pounds her future was uncertain.  She was unsocialised, overbred and had a profound heart mumur but there was something about her that made us pull out all the stops and with the help and support of Bichon Rescue, we started to intensively care for her.  She pulled through her surgeries and slowly developed a trust for humans.  After 3 months she was a different little girl and our job of fostering turned into our family adopting her.

She was so forgiving of her previous life and quietly became a loyal and dedicated bichon.  Her true character came through which was that of a kind and gentle lady.  Despite being warned that her life expectancy was limited, she proved everyone wrong and enjoyed a comfortable life until the age of 13.

Cheri had the ability to leave 6 years of hell behind her and demonstrated the power and strength of forgiveness. She was indeed a very special lady.

Blitzer

Blitzer set a record of 'Firsts'.  He was the first Manoir puppy born, my first to get a CC, first to be awarded BOB, first to be placed in a Group and the first Manoir to be 'Top Sire'.  As a puppy he stood out with his large dark eyes and intense pigment. He had a very sweet nature with an attitude of 'I love the world'!  He really enjoyed showing and took 4 Res CC's and Best of Breed at LKA.  He went on to be placed third in the Toy Group under Liz Cartledge.

When only 6 years old he was found to have the start of renal problems.  For 9 months we were able to keep him stable but his condition took its toll.  One day, instead of enjoying his run on the grass, he lay down by my feet and for the first time ever I saw him looking sad and tired.  A visit to the vet confirmed what we dreaded to hear - his kidneys had closed down.  Losing Blitzer at such a young age was shattering.

I received over 70 tributes to Blitzer from around the world.  My thanks to Gail Avent for creating an 'In Memory of Blitzer' web page and to all those who so kindly wrote to me.